Table Of Content“Although I part ways with the authors on their account and critique of Catholicism and its beliefs,
there is much in this book that is very helpful in introducing the Christian student to the variety of
ways in which Evangelical Protestant apologists have contributed to the intellectual life of global
Christianity.”
—Francis J. Beckwith, professor of philosophy and church-state studies, Baylor University
“Drs. House and Jowers have done a wonderful job at providing, in a single volume, a full-orbed
education in the defense of the faith. We haven’t seen a book like this in a long time that delves into
the definitions, the methodology, the history, the issues, and the practice of this crucial but neglected
field of Christian apologetics. I would like to see a more robust Christian response to the intellectual
challenges of our time, and this book provides a solid foundation for exactly that. It ought to be
digested by every thoughtful believer.”
—Craig J. Hazen, founder and director of the graduate program in Christian apologetics, Biola
University, editor of the journal Philosphia Christi, and author of the novel, Five Sacred Crossings
“Wayne House and Dennis Jowers have given us an understandable, practical, and informative
apologetic work that will surely be recognized for its balance, articulation, clarity, and theological
and philosophical insights. I highly recommend this book to anyone needing a more thorough and
comprehensive grasp of the Christian apologetic task.”
—Joseph Holden, president and professor of theology and apologetics, Veritas Evangelical
Seminary
“Wayne House and Dennis Jowers have crafted a tour de force in Christian apologetics. This power-
packed book covers all the basics, biblically and historically, and it does a whole lot more as well. It
offers rich insights into some of the most critical issues confronting Christians today and lays out
practical solutions grounded in solid biblical theology. You won’t find a clearer presentation of
apologetic essentials in print. Whether neophyte or expert, you will learn from this book!”
—Chad Meister, professor of philosophy and theology at Bethel College, and coeditor of the award-
winning God Is Great, God Is Good and The Cambridge Companion to Christian Philosophical
Theology
“Reasons for Our Hope is a clear, thorough, and accessible introduction to a wide range of issues in
apologetics. The book’s real strength lies in its treatment of apologetic methodology and the biblical
and historical basis of apologetics. It is a delight to see this book published, and I hope it gets into the
hands of those who want to know the reasons for our hope.”
—J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, and author of
The God Question
Reasons for Our Hope
Copyright © 2011 by H. Wayne House & Dennis W. Jowers
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8054-4481-0
Published by B&H Publishing Group
Nashville, Tennessee
Dewey Decimal Classification: 239
Subject Heading: APOLOGETICS\CHRISTIANITY—APOLOGETIC WORK\DOCTRINAL
THEOLOGY
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard
Bible ® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by
permission.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright
©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible.© The Lockman
Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972 , 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV),
copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan
Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980,
1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 • 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
To
Leta
my wonderful wife of forty-four years
and to
Judy A. Jowers
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
General Abbreviations
Bible Book Abbreviations
PART ONE
APOLOGETIC METHODOLOGIES AND SYSTEMS
1. Introduction to Apologetics
2. Worldviews
3. Approaches to Apologetics
4. Categories of Apologetics
5. How Do We Know the Truth?
6. The Tension Between Faith and Reason
7. Natural Theology and Its Contribution to Apologetics
8. Speaking About God and Ultimate Reality
PART TWO
APOLOGETICS IN SCRIPTURE AND IN HISTORY
9. Apologetics in the Old Testament
10. Apologetics in the New Testament
11. Early Apologists of the Second and Third Centuries
12. Later Patristic and Medieval Apologetics (Apologetics in the Middle Ages)
13. Apologetics of the Reformers
14. Enlightenment and Post-Enlightenment Apologetics
15. Contemporary Apologetics
PART THREE
APOLOGETIC PROBLEMS
16. Use of Philosophy in Apologetics
17. Skepticism and Its Cure
18. Postmodernism and Defense of Christianity
19. The Knowledge of God
20. The Problem of Evil
21. Can Miracles Occur and Do They?
22. How Reliable Are the Sources for Christian Truth?
23. Answering the Challenges of the Jesus Quests
24. The Meaning and Importance of the Physical Resurrection of Christ
25. Christianity in Competition with Other Religions
26. The Compatibility of Biblical Truth and Modern Science
PART FOUR
HOW TO USE APOLOGETICS IN ENGAGING THE WORLD
27. Engaging the Cultist
28. Engaging the Secularist
29. Engaging the Postmodernist
30. Engaging the Muslim
31. Engaging New Age Mysticism
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors of this work would like to thank all who have contributed directly or indirectly to the
volume’s production. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the patient and consummately
professional staff of B&H: especially, John Landers, the editor who initiated this project, B&H
academic publisher James Baird, and B&H projects manager Dean Richardson. We are also deeply
indebted to Robert Bowman and Roy Zuck, whose insightful suggestions have led to substantial
improvements in the work.
Professor Michael J. Adams, president of Faith Evangelical Seminary, likewise deserves our
thanks for supplying a work environment conducive to scholarship and adroitly managing the
institution from which we derive our primary income. Our wives, to whom we have dedicated this
volume, naturally, have assisted us in more ways than we can enumerate. We would be highly remiss,
finally, if we did not acknowledge our debt to the God from, through, and to whom are all things
(Rom 11:36). Soli Deo gloria.
We would also like to mention persons who have reviewed and provided research in the writing
of the book, namely, Rob Bowman, Gordon Carle, Robert Drouhard, Joseph Holden, and Steve Rost.
FOREWORD
Never before has apologetics been needed more. The Judeo-Christian framework in which the
gospel alone made sense has been destroyed by secularism, pantheism, and postmodernism. We are
attempting to preach that the gospel is the absolute truth of God, that Christ is the Son of God, that His
resurrection is a supernatural act of God to a generation that does not even believe in God, not the
theistic God of Scripture who alone must be embraced for salvation. As Francis Schaeffer insisted,
we must do preevangelism before we can do evangelism effectively. We need to stop apologizing for
the gospel and start doing apologetics for the gospel.
The Barthian fideistic aversion to apologetics must be overcome. We need to obey the biblical
mandate to give “a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15), “to contend for the faith” (Jude 3),
and to “know how you should answer each person” (Col 4:6). Of course, the Word of God, like a
lion, does not need to be defended; it merely needs to be expounded. But that is not the question,
which is: Is the Bible the Word of God? No Christian would accept the claim of a Muslim that “the
Quran does not need to be defended; it merely needs to be expounded.” And neither should we expect
them or anyone else to accept without evidence our claim that the Bible is the Word of God.
We need to follow the example of the Master Apologist, our Lord and Savior, who gave
witnesses, performed miracles, pointed to fulfilled prophecy, and reasoned with His opponents in
favor of the truth He presented. If our Lord saw the need for apologetics throughout His ministry and
1
did it in many different ways (see our book, The Apologetics of Jesus ), then how much more should
we.
As C. S. Lewis noted a generation ago,
A century ago our task was to edify those who had been brought up in the Faith; our
present task is chiefly to convert and instruct infidels.2
Elsewhere he added,
To be ignorant and simple now—not to be able to meet the enemies on their ground—
would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have,
under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good
philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be
answered.3
Professors House and Jowers make a noble effort to fill this gap. Few contemporary books on the
topic are more comprehensive, more systematic, better documented, or better illustrated than this one.
Of course the reader, like the reviewer, will not agree with all their views. Nonetheless, everyone
can learn from them how to be better able to defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D.
Professor of Apologetics
Veritas Evangelical Seminary
(www.VeritasSeminary.com)
1 Norman L. Geisler and Patrick Zukeran, The Apologetics of Jesus: A Caring Approach to Dealing with Doubters (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2009).
2 C. S. Lewis, “Christian Apologetics,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1970), 94.
3 C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2001), 58.
